News Letter 5852-030
The Shemitah Year
The 8th day of the 7th month 5852 years after the creation of Adam
The 7th Month in the Seventh year of the Third Sabbatical Cycle
The 3rd Sabbatical Cycle after the 119th Jubilee Cycle
The Sabbatical Cycle of Earthquakes, Famines and Pestilence
The Year of letting the land rest
The Sabbatical year that begins March 10, Aviv 2016 and goes to Aviv 2017
September 10, 2016
Shabbat Shalom to The Royal Family of Yehovah,
“Atonement”
Yom Kippur/Day of Atonement – begins Sunday, Sept 11 at sunset through Monday, Sept 12 at sunset Feast of Tabernacles – begins Friday, Sept 16th at sunset (1st High day aligns with the weekly Sabbath) Eighth Day Assembly – begins Friday, Sept 23rd at sunset (High day aligns with the weekly Sabbath) Now I want to bring to your attention that this Day of Atonement is a fast day. Let’s read the instructions in Lev 23.
Lev 23:26 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, 27 Also, on the tenth of this seventh month, this is a day of atonement. It shall be a holy convocation to you. And you shall afflict your souls and offer a fire offering to Jehovah. 28 And you shall do no work in that same day, for it is a day of atonement, in order to make an atonement for you before Jehovah your God. 29 For any soul who is not humbled in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people. 30 And any soul who does any work in that same day, the same soul will I destroy from among his people. 31 You shall do no kind of work. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. 32 It shall be to you a sabbath of rest, and you shall humble your souls. In the ninth of the month at evening, from evening to evening, you shall keep your sabbath.
Now I am going to take a scripture out of context and apply it here to the text above. The following scriptures were in reference to Passover, but I am now applying them to Atonement.
1Co 11:30 For this cause many among you are weak and sickly, and many sleep. 31 For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.
We are to examine ourselves during this 10 Days of Awe at the end of those 40 days of repentance. You are now just two days away from the time when either your name is written in the Book of Life or it is not.
Read again in Revelation about this book.
Rev 20:12 And I saw the dead, the small and the great, stand before God. And books were opened, and another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. 13 And the sea gave up the dead in it. And death and hell delivered up the dead in them. And each one of them was judged according to their works. 14 And death and hell were cast into the Lake of Fire. This is the second death. 15 And if anyone was not found having been written in the Book of Life, he was cast into the Lake of Fire.
So right there you just read how you are judged for the works you did and are doing. Funny how Christianity says they are not saved by works of the law, and yet it is your works that determine your reward.
Let us look at the scripture Christians hate to look at because it goes against everything they are taught. The lies they are taught. James said;
Jas 2:13 For he who has shown no mercy shall have judgment without mercy, and mercy exults over judgment. 14 My brothers, what profit is it if a man says he has faith and does not have works? Can faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, 16 and if one of you says to them, Go in peace, be warmed and filled, but you do not give them those things which are needful to the body, what good is it? 17 Even so, if it does not have works, faith is dead, being by itself. 18 But someone will say, You have faith, and I have works. Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith from my works. 19 You believe that there is one God, you do well; even the demons believe and tremble. 20 But will you know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? 22 Do you see how faith worked with his works, and from the works faith was made complete? 23 And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was imputed to him for righteousness, and he was called the friend of God.” 24 You see then how a man is justified by works, and not by faith only. 25 And in the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she had received the messengers and had sent them out another way? 26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
We are now in the 8th day of the 10 Days of Awe. The time for Teshuva, repentance. Today is also Shabbat Shuva, the day of returning.
Recently we had a number of those who have caused a lot of trouble come around and say they are sorry. For the past few years they have said many evil things about me and the things I have been teaching. They are not alone, but they never apologized to me. They have never repented of the evil they have said about me in their sermons or posts nor the divisions they caused. So have they repented or are they like many of you, just putting on a show for Yehovah, an outward appearance of repentance?
I have had some who cursed me about my teachings on conspiracy gossip such as Jade Helm or President Bush being the anti christ and many others. Other people condemned me this year for the Barley issue. In both cases, some have repented and apologized and it was sincere. But……even though they apologized, they had spoken to many others before they realized they were in error. Sometimes that took years for them to realize, and the damage had been going on all that time.
In a small town somewhere in Eastern Europe lived a nice man with a nasty problem: he talked too much about other people. He could not help himself. Whenever he heard a story about somebody he knew, and sometimes about somebody he did not know, he just had to tell it to his friends. Since he was in business, he heard quite a lot of rumors and stories. He loved the attention he got, and was delighted when they laughed because of the way he told his “anecdotes,” which he sometimes embellished with little details he invented to make them funnier and juicier. Other than that, he was really a pleasant, goodhearted man.
He kind of knew it was wrong, but . . . it was too tempting, and in any case, most of what he told had really happened, didn’t it? Many of his stories were just innocent and entertaining, weren’t they?
One day he found out something really weird (but true) about another businessman in town. Of course he felt compelled to share what he knew with his colleagues, who told it to their friends, who told it to people they knew, who told it to their wives, who spoke with their friends and their neighbors. It went around town, till the unhappy businessman who was the main character in the story heard it. He ran to the rabbi of the town, and wailed and complained that he was ruined! Nobody would like to deal with him after this. His good name and his reputation were gone with the wind.
Now this rabbi knew his customers, so to speak, and he decided to summon the man who loved to tell stories. If he was not the one who started them, he might at least know who did.
When the nice man with the nasty problem heard from the rabbi how devastated his colleague was, he felt truly sorry. He honestly had not considered it such a big deal to tell this story, because it was true; the rabbi could check it out if he wanted. The rabbi sighed.
“True, not true, that really makes no difference! You just cannot tell stories about people. This is all lashon hara, slander, and it’s like murder—you kill a person’s reputation.” He said a lot more, and the man who started the rumor now felt really bad and sorry. “What can I do to make it undone?” he sobbed. “I will do anything you say!”
The rabbi looked at him. “Do you have any feather pillows in your house?” “Rabbi, I am not poor; I have a whole bunch of them. But what do you want me to do, sell them?”“No, just bring me one.”
The man was mystified, but he returned a bit later to the rabbi’s study with a nice fluffy pillow under his arm. The rabbi opened the window and handed him a knife. “Cut it open!”
“But Rabbi, here in your study? It will make a mess!”
“Do as I say!”
And the man cut the pillow. A cloud of feathers came out. They landed on the chairs and on the bookcase, on the clock, on the cat which jumped after them. They floated over the table and into the teacups, on the rabbi and on the man with the knife, and a lot of them flew out of the window in a big swirling, whirling trail.
The rabbi waited ten minutes. Then he ordered the man: “Now bring me back all the feathers, and stuff them back in your pillow. All of them, mind you. Not one may be missing!”The man stared at the rabbi in disbelief. “That is impossible, Rabbi. The ones here is the room I might get, most of them, but the ones that flew out of the window are gone. Rabbi, I can’t do that, you know it!”
“Yes,” said the rabbi and nodded gravely, “that is how it is: once a rumor, a gossipy story, a ‘secret,’ leaves your mouth, you do not know where it ends up. It flies on the wings of the wind, and you can never get it back!”
He ordered the man to deeply apologize to the person about whom he had spread the rumor; that is difficult and painful, but it was the least he could do. He ordered him to apologize to the people to whom he had told the story, making them accomplices in the nasty lashon hara game, and he ordered him to diligently study the laws concerning lashon hara every day for a year, and then come back to him.
That is what the man did. And not only did he study about lashon hara, he talked about the importance of guarding your tongue to all his friends and colleagues. And in the end he became a nice man who overcame a nasty problem.
Although I can read this next verse in Mathew it still does not take away the sting of those who do not bridle their tongues.
Mat 5:10 Blessed are they who have been persecuted for righteousness sake! For theirs is the kingdom of Heaven. 11 Blessed are you when men shall revile you and persecute you, and shall say all kinds of evil against you falsely, for My sake. 12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for your reward in Heaven is great. For so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Today is Shabbat Shuva, and I have explained the meaning of this day many times in the past and will not do so now. We are to return to Yehovah. We are to afflict ourselves at this time of year and return to Him. Our evil, sinful lives have separated us from Him. Each of us continues to sin. Do we truly examine ourselves daily? Do we ask Yehovah to expose our secret sins? Do we bully the brethren and insult them when they do not agree because they do not understand?
Never forget that Israel was destroyed, and Judah was destroyed twice. In 70 CE they kept the Sabbath, the Holy Days according to the barley being aviv and the crescent moon, and they kept the Sabbatical years at the right time. Yet Yehovah still had the Roman armies destroy them because they had not love for one another. In Jerusalem there were three factions fighting each other for control of the Temple, killing each other and destroying the grains stored for that Sabbatical year. Yehovah allowed them all to be slaughtered. These were the zealots. The same zealots who had fled from Gamla after it had fallen to the Romans at the start of this war. Some of those same zealots then fled to Masada where they too, were defeated and slaughtered.
No matter how zealous you are in the observance of the Torah, if you do not have love for those who are not as learned as you are then you too will be removed.
We have explained that when we fast it is as if we are before the Mighty King pleading for our very lives, groveling with our face in the dust of the earth. That is what this word “afflict” means. This is why we fast on this day. In the past some have thought they would die on this day if they did not eat or drink. But know this, those who don’t Fast on this day will be cut off from the rest of us. This is one of the most serious of days. It is the day Yehovah is going to remove one of His greatest creations that has turned and rebelled against Him. So, do not treat this day with casual, lackadaisical attitudes.
“Solar Eclipse preceded the Feast of Trumpets-A lunar Eclipse precedes Sukkot”
Then there will be a lunar eclipse to precede Sukkot. And then quite possibly another solar Eclipse to begin the new year Feb 27, 2017. You can watch it at this link.
This makes 6 Blood and dark moons during the Holy Days of Passover and Sukkot 3 years in a row. And 4 Solar Eclipses to start the year or on Trumpets as well.
Watch the video or get the book and learn more about what they mean and why we are screaming out this warning since 2005.
“The Shemitah year of 2016”
The fall Feasts will be as follows:
Friday Sept 2, 2016 to Saturday Sept 3, 2016 will be the Feast of Trumpets
Atonement will be sunset Sept 11 to sunset Sept 12.
The Feast of Sukkot will begin on Friday evening Sept 16 and Saturday Sept 17.
The 8th Day will be Friday Sunset Sept 23, to sunset Saturday Sept 24, 2016
Pray to Yehovah and ask Him to reveal to you the truth as to when the year began and when to keep the Feasts.
Again I am going to share with you the commandments for the Sabbatical year, maybe each week until you have it memorized. The Sabbatical year began with the sighting of the moon on the evening of March 10, 2016.
1) Do not plant
2) Do not harvest
Lev 25:3 You shall sow your field six years, and you shall prune your vineyard six years, and gather in the fruit of it. 4 But in the seventh year shall be a Sabbath of rest to the land, a Sabbath for Jehovah. You shall neither sow your field, nor prune your vineyard. 5 You shall not reap that which grows of its own accord of your harvest, neither gather the grapes of your undressed vine. It is a year of rest to the land.
3) You can eat what grows on it’s own.
Lev 25:6 And the Sabbath of the land shall be food for you, for you and for your servant, and for your slave woman and for your hired servant, and for your stranger who stays with you, 7 and for your cattle, and for the beast that is in your land, shall all the increase of it be for food.
4) Stock up on food in the 6th year.
Lev 25:20 And if you shall say, What shall we eat the seventh year? Behold, we shall not sow nor gather in our increase! 21 Then I will command My blessing on you in the sixth year, and it shall bring forth fruit for three years.
5) Forgive any debts people owed to you by Sukkot.
Deut 15:1 At the end of every seven years you shall make a release. 2 And this is the manner of the release. Every man who has a loan to his neighbor shall release it. He shall not exact it from his neighbor, or from his brother, because it is called Jehovah’s release. 3 You may exact it from a foreigner, but your hand shall release that which is yours with your brother,
6) Read the Torah out loud at Sukkot so all can hear it being read. Basically what you need to read is Deuteronomy. I would then read Exodus 19- to the end. And Lev 23 and 25.
We have linked you to the News Letter with the laws you are to read just by clicking the link above.
Deut 31:10 And Moses commanded them, saying: At the end of seven years, at the set time of the year of release, in the Feast of Tabernacles, 11 when all Israel has come to appear before Jehovah your God in the place which He shall choose, you shall read this Law before all Israel in their hearing. 12 Gather the people, men and women and the little ones, and your stranger who is within your gates, so that they may hear and that they may learn and fear Jehovah your God, and be careful to do all the words of this Law, 13and that their sons who have not known may hear and learn to fear Jehovah your God, as long as you live in the land where you go over Jordan to possess it.
And by now you should also have completed all your obligations to the widows, orphan, and Levites from your tithes for the 6th year that is now past.
Deut 14:28 At the end of three years you shall bring forth all the tithe of your increase the same year, and shall lay it up inside your gates. 29 And the Levite, because he has no part nor inheritance with you, and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, who are inside your gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied, so that Jehovah your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do.
Ask Yehovah to bless you for having completed this task and then ask Him to bless your efforts as you keep the Sabbatical year and keep your food safe from decay or flood or hydro blackouts and from scavengers like rodents. Ask Him to protect it and to bless you for keeping His commandments.
Deu 26:12 When you have made an end of tithing all the tithes of your increase the third year, the year of tithing, and have given it to the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow (that they may eat inside your gates and be filled), 13 then you shall say before Jehovah your God, I have brought away the holy things out of my house, and also have given them to the Levite, and to the stranger, to the fatherless, and to the widow, according to all Your commandments which You have commanded me. I have not broken Your commandments, neither have I forgotten. 14 I have not eaten of it in my mourning, neither have I put any of it away for unclean use, nor have I given of it for the dead. I have listened to the voice of Jehovah my God, and have done according to all that You have commanded me. 15 Look down from Your holy dwelling, from Heaven, and bless Your people Israel and the land which You have given us, as You swore to our fathers, a land that flows with milk and honey. 16 Today Jehovah your God has commanded you to do these statutes and judgments. You therefore shall keep and do them with all your heart and with all your soul. 17 You have today said that Jehovah is your God, and that you would walk in His ways, and keep His statutes and His commandments and His judgments, and listen to His voice. 18 And Jehovah has taken you today to be His peculiar people, as He has promised you, and to keep all His commandments, 19 and to make you high above all nations which He has made, in praise and in name and in honor, and that you may be a holy people to Jehovah your God, even as He has spoken.
May Yehovah bless each and every one of you for keeping the Sabbatical year commandment and breaking the curses that are upon our nations because we have not kept them in the past.
“Updates From James Relf on Burundi Africa”
In 2011, I first began to teach publicly about Yehovah taking the invitation to the wedding away from Israel, all 12 tribes, and giving it to the gentile nations. At that time in the room, 50% of the audience was from these other nations. 2010 to 2016 is the 3rd Sabbatical cycle, and I have seen a steady decline in interest about keeping the Sabbath and Holy Days and Sabbatical years. Yes, there is a keen interest at first and then they slowly fall away and get involved in some conspiracy teaching or teacher.
In 2015, I was in the Philippines and the interest in the Torah was overwhelming to me. I had never seen such enthusiasm for Yehovah’s word in any other place I have been to. Young, old and all those in between were so excited to learn these Jubilee cycle truths and just how close we are to the end.
This week I had another reminder when someone had promised to endorse our teachings did so mildly without so much as a mention for those who wanted to learn more about the subject. The people of Israel just do not care about the invitation Yehovah has sent out to come to the wedding. Yes, they talk about it and then go home and forget what they learned. Very few take it seriously and know how close we are to this time.
But then I go to the Philippines and get turned on again by those who want to learn and are hungry to learn.
Well, this past week we sent James to Burundi. I was apprehensive to send him by himself, but he wanted to go and do this, so we sent him. He has written me daily updates and I have included them all here. I did not edit them. He is typing on a cell phone. But the response has moved me to tears and great joy. Yehovah truly is calling the gentiles now as we enter into the 4th Sabbatical cycle. The same cycle when Israel will be judged and destroyed just as we are warned in Matthew.
Mat 22:2 The kingdom of Heaven is like a certain king who made a marriage for his son. 3 And he sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding; and they would not come. 4 Again he sent out other servants, saying, Tell those who are invited, Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and fatlings are killed, and all things are ready. Come to the marriage. 5 But not caring, they went their ways, one to his field, another to his trading. 6 And the rest took his servants and treated them spitefully, and killed them. 7 But when the king heard, he was angry. And he sent out his armies and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. 8 Then he said to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they who were invited were not worthy. 9 Therefore go into the exits of the highways, and as many as you shall find, invite them to the marriage. 10 So the servants went out into the highways and gathered together as many as they found, both bad and good. And the wedding was filled with reclining guests. 11 And the king coming in to look over the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment. 12 And he said to him, Friend, how did you come in here without having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the servants, Bind him hand and foot and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 14 For many are called, but few chosen.
Notice verse 7. Yehovah is going to send out His armies against those who could care less about this invitation. Then in verse 9 Yehovah says to go out and fill those seats with whomever you can find. These are the ones who have not had the blessings Yehovah promised to Israel since Sinai. The ones who did without. NOW THEY GET TO COME AND REPLACE THOSE OF ISRAEL WHO WOULD NOT COME. This breaks my heart to see it. And then it also rejoices my heart to see these others coming in droves.
Brethren, as you read the reports from James keep this parable in mind and know what is going on and the timing of it. We are about to begin the 4th Sabbatical cycle of war. It is the one that the covenant made with many ends in 2020. It is also the middle of the Jubilee cycle in 2023, and now we see many wanting and willing to keep the commandments from the other nations of the world.
I have leads in India, Burma and China that we are working on and we continue to reach out to the rest of Asia. Is someone going to take your place at the wedding Feast? Are you going to let this slip out of your hands because you became complacent? It is up to you. You can sit back and do nothing or you can get involved and change the world. This invitation does not wait for you or anyone. You must act and continue to act. Study and warn others and teach the Sabbatical and Jubilee years and the prophecies they reveal.
Now read the wonderful work Yehovah is doing in Burundi, Africa.
We have our first report back from James Relf in Burundi.
I know we can raise the money to get bibles, complete bibles in the languages they need them in. Read this as you keep the Feast of Trumpets and sound the alarm.
I think there is going to be a problem with most of this. I mean that I am going to talk with Telesphore tomorrow more about this but they are all only reading the handout NT from Bible Society with no OT. I am not sure how this is going to work if even the teachers have not ever read the OT. I asked a simple question today about Moses and it was like asking the wall for a response. There is such an urgent need here for everything that it almost seems impossible to resolve or where to start.
Oh yeah, the area this building was in was so worn down with small shanty shacks with people cooking raw meet right on the road if you could call it that. Across the road (again, not really a road but more like a dirt path) are massive luxury homes with barbed wire on all the fences and big steel gates to keep people out. Such a contrast.
James Relf arriving at the airport in Bujumbura, Burundi Africa Sept 2, 2016 |
James Relf arriving a the church in Bujumbura Burundi Sept 3, 2016 |
Worshipping at Bujumbura Burundi Sept 3, 2016 with James Relf. |
We have another update from James in Burundi and now in the Congo. Sept 4, 2016
Hey guys I just got back into hotel and thought I would give you an update before I forget what happened, as if that is going to happen any time soon. I was right when I said I felt like we were going to Congo today and we did first thing. A very small church by our standards but the people were so excited to hear the message of truth which seems to be the theme of this whole truth. Every where we go I am the big white man from outside who brings truth. They have a name for me but I will dammed if I can pronounce it or even remember it having to remember so many pastors names and all.
The Congo trip was incredible. There was one woman in the front row who kept looking at me when I said something she did not agree with, and then once I explained it I could see her face relax and this sigh of, Oh OK now i get it, type of look. She wanted to learn more than anyone there. When i told Telesphore to make sure she gets a new Bible, he mentioned that she has had several and they keep getting stolen from their shack. She has 6 kids, takes care of three more if I remember correctly, so I suggested that she start her own home group with that clan. I guess she liked it because she laughed and told me to make sure i came back to teach them more.
Then we went and had lunch down by the lake and had our lunch outside under the sun. Very nice but it is rude to leave any food on the plate even if you are full, then others will help you clean off your plate. I felt bad that I was not hungry just soaking wet from sweat and tired.
Then after lunch we went back to our first church where we were greeted by Pastor Louis as we were ushered into the back of the stage, which is just a concrete floor and with wooden benches. I don’t think my butt will ever look the same. After some amazing off key singing, it was my time to get up once more to teach this time on Law & Grace. After a little bit of teaching I kind of left my notes and ran with it and did better than I could have planned with the whole session. Tomorrow I go back there again to teach on the Feasts, Sabbath and Sabbatical Year.
Teaching like this with an interpreter sure is different and much more challenging to not get lost. Tomorrow I will get a new one just after getting used to the first guy, The people are amazing and conditions are appalling and I could not care one bit. I have never felt so needed or alive as I am now. Too bad I have to go home. There is so much work to be done here and people just want to know the truth. I threw in little Paleo Hebrew today while talking about “Truth” “Emet” and they ate it up. When you show them how they are supposed to walk, they are completely ready to toss away all the past crap and just walk in the truth of Torah. Not bad for a bunch of people who don’t even own complete Bibles. Makes you wonder what our excuses are when you see these people.
Oh well here are some of the new images. The one I am in is in the Congo. The church has to be re-built every year because when the rainy season comes which is right around the corner and all the buildings being made of mud, they loose their homes and start over. They had just started building a new foundation outside the building when they heard i was coming. Kind of cool when you think that I was there to teach them about the proper foundation of Torah and they got the connection as well. Pretty tired so going to have something to eat. Talk later.
Oh yeah I almost forgot. They can get the Bibles here for $7 US each in the languages they want. I am not sure of the amount we are going need yet, but I will keep you informed.
CONGO Church. New foundation on right side of pic behind stone pile. Congo — at Uvira-Republique Democratique Du Congo. |
CONGO Church inside – no floor just dirt everywhere. Woman with red song book has the six kids and lost her Bible 3 times. |
More worship before teaching. |
This is Shanty town, just down from the church on the hill.There is about a dozen people who live in each one of these with huge homes right across the road which is the wall beside the cars parked. |
Our latest update from James in Burundi Sept 5, 2016
Joe
Well another day goes by faster each day. I am afraid that it will go by too fast. The word is getting out about the truth of Torah and we are getting more people finding out what i am teaching. Today while walking through town Telesphore was approached by a University professor who wants me to come teach. So next week because it is the only time I have left, I am to be the guest speaker at the local University of Burundi. I am not yet sure what to speak on or even how much time i have on the clock but with what Telesphore mentioned this one could turn out to be along term thing. But that can be for next year.
James
James Relf with Pastor Louis who has amazing passion and is looking forward to taking this new message all over Africa starting in Rwanda. |
Second one is my two translators, both amazing guys. The young one is training to be a Pastor and the older one has his own church up north. He won’t leave until I leave because he does not want to miss anything. So refreshing. |
Tuesday Sept 6, 2016 update from Burundi with James Relf.
Last day in the local church. I have much to cover today Yah willing. I am finding that now that I am the one who is in the spotlight so to speak, that I must always be on guard of my own flesh and not letting myself be too proud or arrogant. Fortunately I have a wife who never lets me forget this fact or that I should always be giving all the credit to YHVH and not take any for myself. Today’s subjects will cover the Sabbaths, Sabbatical Year & Jubilee Year, and then touch on the Blood Moons. After lunch I cannot remember from one day to the next where I am going. I suppose on the big picture it does not matter where I go, I just have remember why I am here and just wait on Yah for direction and guidance.
Today as all the days, was amazing. It is interesting that after only a few days you can see a difference in the way I am viewed here. When I first got here last Sabbath, I was totally the white man outsider. After a few days the pastors are coming up to me themselves and speaking about the difference that i have made in their lives and faith. To be honest I know the effect Yah can have in our lives but to see this all happen and Pastors come up to me ready to take on the world with this new information, is truly inspiring to say the least.
Before I get ahead of myself, we arrived once again for our last meeting with the pastors from the outer provinces. I spoke on The Sabbaths, Sabbatical years, Jubilee years, Dietary Laws and finished up with the Blood Moons. Actually I finished on purpose up with the Sabbatical years. I wanted to leave that to the end due to the seriousness of the conclusion that one must face and the realization it brings. What i found instead was this made them even more determined to get out there and spread this message of being Torah obedient.
When I was teaching about clean and unclean foods, I was just discussing unclean insects when i noticed this rather large cockroach crawling on the floor. It was about three inches long. It suddenly turned and headed right at me. When I mentioned it to the translator, he assumed I wanted everyone to know this, so he translated, “Crap what a huge bug, now that’s unclean”. The next thing, the room broke out in laughter as did the women in the room. Of course I used that to demonstrate that this one was not good for eating. I gently kicked it away with out killing it and it took off in another direction and proceeded to complete the lesson. YHVH is always testing us.
Next we went on to the Sabbatical years and while getting ready to speak I noticed that when I had made my power point slides into PDF so I could just use the tablet, it removed all the comments for my lesson. I did not take my laptop today so I had to go off memory for this one. I said a quick prayer and started to speak. It was like the information and more was just pouring out of my mouth like i had memorized the whole thing. The more of this and every teaching I do when we start getting into the Word of YHVH, I get one of the Pastors to read which keeps them on their toes. When they are finished I explain what is being said if necessary. I am so to say is that pretty much every time I am seeing new connections within the Word that I have never see before. So what should only take a few minutes I end out stretching out for twenty minutes just on one portion. I am so blown away the way YHVH works and incredibly humbled that it is me this time He has chosen to send His message this time.
When I got to the end of the teaching on the Sabbatical Years, I again was concerned with how they would react with the fact that according to the charts there was only 28 years left and within that war, captivity and much more. I felt lead to explain that even as a human I was incorrect with the calculations on this, it was a win win situation. I mentioned that first they still have to keep the Sabbatical Year, and walk in the truth of Torah, and they would have YHVH’s protection and provision during those terrible years, but if I was wrong then they were still being obedient and just got more time to do it in. I was informed by others that although they were tired of war and blood shed which Africa is not unfamiliar with, but to know that it was coming to an end, seemed to lift their spirits and convince them of their purpose, to complete the race set before them.
They asked about support, not financially but spiritually. How should we proceed now that we have this knowledge. So I mentioned that first they should take the course material back home, study it and prove it correct. Then and only when they were walking it out each day and to expect attacks against them and testing by Yah, then and only then if they feel prepared take the message to the nation. It blew me away because they were lining up to go and reach their country. So impressed by what YHVH is doing here right now.
While having our lunch of potatoes, peas, goat, rice and a fresh banana for desert, they were actually speaking of where they want to take this message first and asking if I would join them going out weeks at a time. Bishop Telesphore, and one of my translators were then trying to convince me to get ordained through them. I of course declined for now. If YHVH decides to take me back to Africa, I will of course go with yes wide open and a heart for Africa in my chest. Maybe then and after some prayer if it becomes necessary I will allow them to ordain me strictly as they say, it helps with the government if you are a pastor when traveling around.
Well that is all for now. Tomorrow I start going to a different church twice a day until I leave for Israel for Sukkoth. Shalom or in Swahili, amahoro.
Class of 2016 – Pastors from the outer provinces. |
Donations help pay for this lunch to feed our hungry Pastors. |
This is Tony Hope a Pastor from the out northern regions of Africa. He knew enough English to thank me for changing his life. Totally humbling experience at their gratitude. |
6 months ago this was all flat with no hole. The church is right behind me on the hill. This happened during the last rainy season, which is actually late this year and the people are getting worried as they only have so much time for the plant of the harvest for winter before it is too late to plant there. — in Bujumbura, Burundi. |
Joe I wanted to pass on some info which should make you happy. You know that for the longest time I have told you that Telesphore has 65 churches under him that they have planted throughout Africa, mostly in Burundi. Well I thought to ask today and see if that was correct. He has officially informed me that since he was commissioned as Burundi 16 years ago, he now has 121 churches across the land. Your message will be going out to all of them now and beginning next year he wants to of course hit all the surrounding countries starting with Rwanda, Tanzania and other countries north of here to start with.
We have not had the meeting to discuss about the learning centers yet and probably not until after Sabbath this week. Your books are going with the material Yah asked me to put together for this trip, will be the standard (Torah) that they will all be directed to and teach.
Just try not to get to big a head or anything. Just thought I would bring that to you attention.
James
Another day gone so fast. I spent this morning preparing for my first Swahili church in the outer regions of Burundi. I knew I had a meeting coming up with the Gov officials and I wanted to make sure that I had something that was to the point and easy enough to get through in an hour. I spent about three hours reading material and trying to put something together. I decided to try it out on this church and see how it went.
We left about 2pm for along truck ride through some very pot hole ridden roads. I think the next time i hot one back home I may just take a picture. Here they are so many and very deep on some roads, there is no such thing as yellow road dividers, and even if there was no one would pay attention. With the trucks of all shapes and sizes, really, then there are regular truck, cars motor cycles, bicycles every where, everyone does what they want and need to get from point to point. We have been passed by a bus which here is a large van type vehicle only seconds after it passed us cut us off to turn off the road. Then you have all the bikers who are everywhere and no concern about being hit are weaving around everyone like its a game. I tell ya, its scary driving here. Oh yeah the speed bumps are at least 8 inches high so not a chance of missing them or going fast either.
Before we left for the church, I was asked if we could purchase some of the Bibles we wanted to get for them. So i handed out $200 US and picked up 33 Kirundi Bibles. To be honest after seeing how their faces lit up and the rush to get a copy of a Bible, I would do it all over again. We could have handed out 3 times as much without any problems. There is still a great need for bibles, what i did today has even made a dent in the need for complete bibles.
So again after a long drive we arrived at our destination. Nothing too special compared to all the other churches that I have been to. When we arrived as always we were greeted by elders I guess who immediately grabbed our bags and ushered us into an almost empty church. Of course it was only 2:30 in the afternoon so maybe that had something to do with it. I was wrong. By 3pm it had filled up with more standing outside listening. After about 90 minutes of singing and prayers it was time for the Bishop to stand up and say a few words. He talked and introduced me and how we met which took about 15 minutes, and then i thought, okay it was time. Nope, wrong again, then the choir got up and another choir got up and more announcements, and then about 5pm I finally got up to teach.
That was the longest wait I have had to do, if I did not have headache again and their volume was a lot lower it would not have been so bad. We do what we can and enjoy it and besides the music was not so bad. I honestly have never seen someone make a song last 30 minutes before, like they do. Well I finally got up to teach and at first I felt a bit of confusion taking me over. So I spent a bit of time talking, or actually asking them questions about what they know and have been taught. They were pretty much a blank slate. Only one person had read any of the Torah or even knew what that was. Probably because none of them could afford it if the drive in here was any indication. So, once I settled down I taught on the Torah, feasts, sabbaths, Blood moons, but ever so briefly. I did go into the reason and meaning for the festivals and used that to introduce our current time situation. I thought they took it rather well considering all things. It might have been that I was not understood correctly or like so many places war is second nature to them, I really have no idea.
After Telesphore told me that they were waiting for me to give out the bibles that were right in front of them on the stage. The Pastor for the church got up and asked who would like one. Stupid question. Then he told them that only those who were going to take the message out there and teach it would be able to get one. In two seconds there was a rush to the stage and one lady almost go trampled in front of me. Had I not been there she may have been seriously hurt. Once done, people went back to their seats shouting for joy that they had a bible with smiles from ear to ear. It was one of those moments in time I would not mind repeating over and over again. I made sure that they knew that they would have no excuses now about learning the Bible and that their pastor, the Bishop, myself and Joe would be in the wings to guide there every step.
So after more screaming and celebration we were able to corral them outside for a final picture of another church family put on the right track and so many years lost in the wilderness.
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“The Eighth Day-Why do We Keep It?”
In the Philippines last Sukkot, I explained to them all about the 8th day. I did so in a series of questions that Leo, one of the elders there, and I had the night before. The answers to those questions reveals the meaning of the 8th Day Feast. So I know not many of you have watched the video. I know with the North American attention span being as short as it is, many of you will not watch this. With Yehovah taking His blessing and His invitation to the wedding away from the descendants of Israel and now giving that invitation to the rest of the world, I would think it just might behoove you to pay more attention and study a lot more than most of you now do. Take the time to watch and learn.
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